Window

Window
The Window option enables you to use a window to indicate the area you want to plot. Nothing
outside the window prints. To use this option, select it from the drop-down list. The Plot dialog box
temporarily closes to allow you to select a window. After you’ve done this the first time, a Window
button appears next to the drop-down list. You can then click the Window button and then indicate
a window in the drawing area. If you let AutoCAD fit the drawing onto the sheet by using the Fit
To Paper option in the Plot Scale group, the plot displays exactly the same thing that you enclose
in the window.
Plot Scale
In the previous section, the descriptions of several Plot Area options indicate that the Fit To Paper
option can be selected. Bear in mind that when you instead apply a scale factor to your plot, it
changes the results of the Plot Area settings, and some problems can arise. This is where most new
users have difficulty.
For example, the apartment plan drawing fits nicely on the paper when you use Fit To Paper. But
if you try to plot the drawing at a scale of 1˝ = 1´, you’ll probably get a blank piece of paper because,
at that scale, hardly any of the drawing fits on your paper. AutoCAD will tell you that it’s plotting and
then tell you that the plot is finished. You won’t have a clue as to why your sheet is blank.
TIP
Remember that the
Plan1.dwg
file was set up for an 18´
×
24´ (A2, or 594 mm
×
420 mm for
metric users) sheet at a scale of
1
⁄
8
´ = 1˝-0´ (1:10 for metric users). If, when plotting from the Model
tab, you select these settings from the Plot dialog box (provided your printer or plotter supports
18´
×
24´, or A2, paper) and you also select Limits for your plot area, your drawing will fit on the
paper and will be at the appropriate scale.
If an image is too large to fit on a sheet of paper because of improper scaling, the plot image is
placed on the paper differently, depending on whether the plotter uses the center of the image or
the lower-left corner for its origin. Keep this in mind as you specify scale factors in this area of the
dialog box.

Scale
You can select a drawing scale from a set of predefined scales in the Scale drop-down list. These
options cover the most common scales you’ll need to use.



You’ve already seen how the Fit To Paper option enables you to avoid giving a scale and forces
the drawing to fit on the sheet when plotting from the Model tab. This works fine if you’re plotting
illustrations that aren’t to scale. If you select another option, such as
1
⁄
8
´ = 1˝-0´, the inches and units
input boxes change to reflect this scale. The Inches = input box changes to 0.125, and the Units input
box changes to 12.
If you’re plotting from a layout, you’ll use the 1:1 scale option or perhaps a 1:2 scale if you’re
plotting a half-size drawing. In a layout, the drawing scale is typically set up through the viewport.
While plotting from a layout, AutoCAD automatically determines the area to plot based on the
printer and sheet size you select. For more information, see “WYSIWYG Plotting Using Layout
Tabs” later in this chapter.